Pages

Monday, September 8, 2014

Word of the Week - Rumbustious

In case you haven't heard yet, Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland is on sale until September 15! All digital versions are only $0.99, which is a waaaaaaaay lower price than it's usual $8+. If you were waiting for the right time to get this one, it's here. =)

But as I was promoting the start of the sale while on vacation last week, I realized that I honestly couldn't even remember parts of this book, LOL. I hadn't read it since a few months before its release in fall of 2011, so I though, "Hey, I'm on vacation--I'm not working on anything else. Why not?" So I sat down and became reacquainted with Lark and Emerson and Wiley, with Edwinn and Sena and Kate and Alice.

And I also remembered one of my fun word finds. I mentioned it in a Remember When Wednesday post way back in January 2011, but I thought it deserved its own Word of the Week.

It started from wanting to describe a passel of boys on Christmas as rambunctious. The problem being that rambunctious wasn't created until 1859--and this book is set in 1783. But etymonline.com helpfully pointed out that rambunctious was a later form of rumbunctious... though even that was from 1830. Still no help for me!

But! Rumbunctious is in turn a variation on a word from 1778--rumbustious. Etymologists don't seem entirely certain of the origins on this word, but they suggest that it's a combination of "rum + boisterous, robustious, bumptious." And it worked for me! I figured it was close enough to rambunctious that no one would wonder at its meaning, but it also gave a certain something to the tone. =)

Of course, vacation is now over, and it's back to the grind of school and editing for me and mine. But no fears--I've got some beach-inspired musings planned for later this week. ;-)